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MEC Inflight Training Committee Interviews – Call for Expressions of Interest

[UPDATED 12/04/2017] Clarification was added to indicate that only members of the inflight training department or special projects pool assigned to inflight training-related projects are eligible for Inflight Training Committee membership.

Background

The Inflight Training Committee is an MEC-level committee responsible for working with management to advocate for Flight Attendant interests in all matters pertaining to Flight Attendant training programs and to represent the unique needs and interests of Flight Attendants who are involved in Flight Attendant Initial and/or Recurrent Training, the special projects pool, and other non-flying assignments.

The MEC is seeking to fill the committee with an MEC Committee Chairperson and two Committee Members.  Both pre-merger Alaska and pre-merger Virgin America Flight Attendants who meet the qualifications of the position are eligible to express interest.

Additional Information from the MEC Policy Manual

I. INFLIGHT TRAINING COMMITTEE

1.  SCOPE

a.  The MEC Inflight Training Committee will be responsible for representing the unique needs and interests of Flight Attendants who are involved in Flight Attendant Initial and/or Recurrent Training, the special projects pool, and other non-flying assignments (hereafter referred to as the “Inflight Training Department”).

b.  The Committee will advocate for Flight Attendant interests in all matters pertaining to Flight Attendant training programs, curriculum, materials, and activities.

2.  POLICY/REPSONSIBILITIES

a.  The MEC Inflight Training Committee shall consist of the MEC Inflight Training Committee Chairperson and two additional members-at-large selected by the MEC.

b.  The MEC Chairperson shall:

(i)  Be an active member in good standing who is currently and regularly assigned to Inflight Training Department responsibilities.

(ii)  Meet regularly, but no less than monthly, with the MEC Vice President to discuss the needs, interests, challenges, and other matters of interests to members assigned to Inflight Training Department responsibilities.

(iii)  Represent the Flight Attendant point of view to the Company in all matters pertaining to Flight Attendant Initial and Recurrent Training programs, curriculum, and other materials as well as supplemental required and optional training activities.

(iv)  Work with the Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee (ASHSC) to review all Flight Attendant training activities and materials

(v)  Work with other AFA Committees as needed to accomplish assigned tasks and responsibilities

(vi)  Participate in AFA presentations to Flight Attendant Initial Training (IT) classes

(vii)  Keep the membership informed of items of interest pertaining to members assigned to Inflight Training Department responsibilities.  He/she will compose informational and educational articles of interest to the membership and provide them to the MEC Communications Chairperson to be included in MEC communications and posted to the MEC website

Qualifications

  • Current member of the inflight training department and/or inflight special projects pool assigned to inflight training-related projects (includes Virgin America ATS Flight Attendants)
  • Working knowledge of inflight training department policies and procedures
  • Strong computer skills. Working knowledge of Google email and Microsoft Office.
  • Strong written and verbal communication skills. Ability to write membership communications, respond professionally to internal and external e-mail, prepare reports, and plan meeting agendas and take minutes.
  • Ability to meet deadlines, delegate responsibilities, and follow up on assigned tasks.

Duties

  • Review and provide input on Flight Attendant Initial and Recurrent Training programs, curriculum, and other materials
  • Review and provide input on supplemental training activities
  • Act in an advisory role to the MEC on inflight training-related matters
  • Review material, handle correspondence, and keep the members well informed of current inflight training developments. Provide information to the Communications Committee for inclusion in MEC communications.
  • Attend meetings with management and represent the AFA position on inflight training-related matters.
  • Correspond with the MEC regularly to provide status updates. Prepare and send a monthly committee report to the MEC.

Time Commitment and Flight Pay Loss Reimbursement

  • It is estimated that most of the work of these positions will be conducted in conjunction with performing regular inflight training or special projects responsibilities. Some additional remote work may be required.
  • These positions do not have an allocated budget for flight pay loss reimbursement.

Working Relationships

With Other MEC Committee Chairpersons

Regular interaction with other MEC Committee Chairpersons; particularly the Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee (ASHSC), Grievance Committee, and Reserve Committee Chairpersons.

With The Master Executive Council

This position reports to the Master Executive Council. The MEC executive sponsor for the committee is the MEC Vice President.

With Alaska Airlines Management

Constant interaction with inflight management, particularly the Managing Director of Inflight Strategy and Support (Carmen Williams), Manager of Inflight Training Delivery (Amanda Westendorf), Manager of Inflight Policy and Procedure (position currently vacant), and the Inflight Training Supervisors.

Expressing Interest and Interview Scheduling

  • The MEC will hold interviews during the January MEC meeting on Thursday, January 18 and Friday, January 19, 2018.
  • Interviews will be at the AFA Alaska MEC office in Seattle.
  • Submit an expression of interest and resume to MEC Secretary-Treasurer Linda Christou at linda.christou@afaalaska.org no later than 5 PM Pacific Time on Monday, January 8, 2018. In your expression of interest, please indicate the position you are interested in: Chairperson, Committee Member, or both.
  • Linda will be able to provide additional information regarding transportation and booking of flights if necessary.

 

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Linda Christou, Lisa Pinkston, Terry Taylor, Mario de’Medici, Melissa Osborne, Tim Green and Brice McGee

Seniority Merger Deadline – November 24

This Friday, November 24, is the constitutional deadline for challenges to either the competitive bidding date or date of birth that were included on your Seniority Verification Letter (SVL). There are instructions on the SVL informing you of how to send information if you believe either date is incorrect.

If you did not receive your SVL, you may request that a duplicate be sent to you by email.  To do so, send your request to the following email address: seniority@afacwa.org.  Your request must include your Name, Employee Number, Council/Base, and your Email Address.

During January 2018, the Seniority Merger Integration Committee (SMIC) will meet in Washington DC at the AFA International Office.   At this week-long meeting, the plan is to complete the research, resolve any incorrect dates, certify each seniority list, determine the training adjustment to apply to AS seniority dates, determine the same-day tie-breaker, and finally, merge the two seniority lists into a single seniority list. Additionally, the SMIC will draft a document for the entire membership to explain the details of the process and answer questions that have been received from various members.

In Solidarity,

Your Seniority Merger Integration Committee – Sandra Morrow (AS), Rolando Teran (VX), Lynne Voigtsberger (VX) and Marie Maxwell (AS)

Seniority Merger Update – November 16, 2017

The Seniority Merger Integration Committee has been contacted by some members who were confused about the recent Pilot Arbitration, and whether our seniority integration would involve arbitration.

For both Flight Attendants and Pilots, the seniority integration process is determined by the Constitution and Bylaws (C&B) of each Union. Each C&B has a unique set of rules that governs the process for the benefit of the respective memberships.

At the Airline Pilots Association (ALPA), their C&B does involve arbitration as part of their process. This addresses the needs of the members at ALPA.

At AFA-CWA, our C&B focuses on our “competitive (bidding) seniority.” We do not rely upon an outside arbitrator making decisions based upon the merged airlines. In essence, we keep our bidding seniority, and take that with us into the merger. The only permitted change is to address different training policies. In our case, since one group has competitive (bidding) seniority from the beginning of training and the other group has it from the end of training, a training adjustment may be determined.

In simplest terms, the VX Flight Attendants will see no change to their current competitive (bidding) seniority dates. The competitive (bidding) seniority dates of AS F/A’s can only be adjusted to accommodate the difference in training policies, but otherwise everyone on that list will remain in the same relative order. The work of determining a training adjustment and merging the lists will be accomplished by the Seniority Merger Integration Committee during January 2018.

Reminder: If you did not receive your Seniority Verification Letter (SVL), you may request that a duplicate be sent to you by email.  To do so, send your request to the following email address: seniority@afacwa.org.  Your request must include your Name, Employee Number, Council/Base, and your Email Address.

Note that November 24 is the deadline to notify us of any inaccuracies. Instructions are on your SVL.

In Solidarity,

Your Seniority Merger Integration Committee – Sandra Morrow (AS), Rolando Teran (VX), Lynne Voigtsberger (VX) and Marie Maxwell (AS)

Merger Negotiations Session #6 Update – November 2017

The AFA Alaska-Virgin America Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) just wrapped up this week’s session of merger negotiations, our sixth so far. We met with management from Tuesday, November 7th through Thursday, November 9th in Seattle, WA. Representing management: Vice President of Labor Relations Greg Mays, Vice President of Alaska Airlines and Virgin America Inflight & Call Center/Guest Services Jeff Butler, Managing Director of Labor Relations-Air Elizabeth Ryan and Virgin America Manager of Labor Emily Kimmel.

This was a mixed session that saw us reaching agreement on three provisions relating to the transition, and we presented management with our proposed improvements to the Alaska Agreement. Earlier in the week, we reached agreement on the transition uniform program for VX and transitioning the VX Flight Attendants to the Alaska Sick Leave policy.

Using your survey responses, the JNC crafted a targeted list of priorities. AFA presented a strong case for why the changes were appropriate and needed. Initially, management’s team asked a lot of questions and for clarification. However, upon returning to the table after their discussions with upper management, their informal response did not leave us overly optimistic about getting a quick deal.

Management requested more time to cost out our proposals and committed to responding with a counterproposal at our next session in December. In the interim, AFA’s finance analyst and the Company’s financial planner will be in communication to ensure that we have vetted management’s costing model and agree on the numbers.

Keep in mind that merger negotiations are a different process than regular negotiations. Discussions are focusing on a limited list of Flight Attendant priorities. All the provisions in the AFA Alaska contract (scheduled pay raises, etc.) will continue in force for pre-merger Alaska Airlines Flight Attendants; all the provisions in the Virgin America work rules will remain in effect for pre-merger Virgin America Flight Attendants unless modified and/or superseded by the AFA Virgin America letters of agreement.

Our next merger negotiations session is scheduled for December 12th-14th.

In Solidarity,

Your JNC – MEC President Jeffrey Peterson, Jennifer Wise MacColl, Jamie Cogen, Lindsey Steele and AFA Senior Staff Negotiator Paula Mastrangelo

Merger Negotiations Session #5 Update – October 2017

The AFA Alaska-Virgin America Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) just wrapped up this week’s session of merger negotiations, our fifth so far. We met with management from Tuesday, October 24th through Thursday, October 26th in Seattle, WA. Representing management: Vice President of Labor Relations Greg Mays, Vice President of Alaska Airlines and Virgin America Inflight & Call Center/Guest Services Jeff Butler, Managing Director of Labor Relations-Air Elizabeth Ryan and Virgin America Manager of Labor Emily Kimmel. Managing Director of Virgin America Inflight Val Jenkins also attended on the first day.

Merger negotiations survey

The JNC thanks everyone who completed the merger negotiations survey. The survey received a healthy response, and the majority of the feedback was very targeted and consistent. Although the JNC realizes everyone is interested in knowing the objectives of the group as a whole, AFA generally does not publish results from negotiations surveys for strategic reasons. We can tell you, however, that there were no surprises. If it makes strategic sense for the JNC to divulge more in the future, be assured that we will be as transparent as possible with you.

The JNC used the survey responses as a springboard in our talks with management regarding your expectations for these negotiations and for improvements to the AFA Alaska contract. Remember that any improvements to the contract will accrue to all pre-merger Virgin America and pre-merger Alaska Airlines Flight Attendants. The JNC felt encouraged by our initial discussions with management regarding the general themes outlined in your survey responses. These issues will remain hot topics in our continued sessions.

Very busy session…

Otherwise, It was a very busy session and a considerable number of complex provisions were discussed. Because policies and procedures are so unequal and different between the employee groups, crafting provisions that allow for a smooth and equitable transition takes time. Additionally, we are challenged by the constraints of the various Alaska Airlines information technology systems.

The JNC is pleased to report that we put the finishing touches on a letter of agreement (LOA) that separates reliability and performance discipline into two independent tracks for Virgin America (VX) Flight Attendants. Council 35 VX President Melissa Osborne has been advocating for separation of the tracks since AFA was certified as the collective bargaining representative at VX earlier this year, so executing the LOA is the culmination of her continued advocacy. Beginning November 1, 2017, the administration of attendance and performance discipline at VX will essentially mirror that at Alaska. Council 35 is planning an update to VX Flight Attendants in the near future regarding the details.

In partnership with the Master Executive Council (MEC), the JNC is very close to cementing a letter of agreement regarding bidding, trading and pay for the Airbus transition training that will occur in the second half of 2018 for Alaska Airlines Flight Attendants. Boeing transition training for Virgin America Flight Attendants is covered under existing work rules by default, but the JNC is intending to discuss the provisions with management at our next session.

The parties spent considerable time developing a process for the VX Flight Attendants to transition over to Alaska sick leave accrual. The two sick leave programs are currently very different, and the VX Flight Attendants would be significantly disadvantaged if there were a simple ‘turn-key’ cutover to the Alaska sick leave contract provisions. Work on this will continue next session.

Keep in mind that merger negotiations are a different process than regular negotiations. These talks are not under the jurisdiction of the National Mediation Board or Section 6 of the Railway Labor Act, and neither AFA nor management believes that the entire contract is open for discussion. Discussions are focusing on a short list of items. All the provisions in the AFA Alaska contract (scheduled pay raises, etc.) will continue in force for pre-merger Alaska Airlines Flight Attendants; all the provisions in the Virgin America work rules will remain in effect for pre-merger Virgin America Flight Attendants unless modified and/or superseded by the AFA Virgin America letters of agreement.

Our next merger negotiations session is scheduled for November 7-9.

In Solidarity,

Your JNC – MEC President Jeffrey Peterson, Jennifer Wise MacColl, Jamie Cogen, Lindsey Steele and AFA Senior Staff Negotiator Paula Mastrangelo

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